New Family Defense Clinic Takes on Child Welfare Crisis
January 31, 2025
Carolina Law students will soon step into North Carolina Child Welfare courtrooms, representing parents seeking to keep their families together in the face of State intervention.
“Generally court-appointed work, the number of private attorneys taking on DSS cases is decreasing to point of crisis,” says Clinical Professor Beth Posner, who will teach Carolina Law’s new Family Defense Clinic, launching in the fall of 2025. “These families need attorneys who have both excellent courtroom skills and an appreciation for the maze of legal and social issues families in the system must navigate.”
With strong backing from North Carolina’s Office of Indigent Defense Services, the clinic arrives at a time when the number of experienced child welfare attorneys is dwindling across the state. Students will work in pairs, representing parents fighting to keep or regain custody of their children while connecting them with essential resources like substance abuse treatment and housing assistance.
“This work sits at the crossroads of family law, poverty law, and criminal defense,” Posner says. “One day, students may be meeting with and counseling clients who have had their children taken from their homes, developing strategies for reunification; another day they may be in meetings with county attorneys, social workers, and Guardians ad Litem; and on another day they may be arguing before a judge. Throughout the work, students will be holding the system accountable in the pursuit of family integrity. The work is complex, challenging and absolutely vital.”
“Our students tend to bring a heightened level of representation wherever they are,” she says. “They are disciplined, energetic, and passionate, and they believe strongly in the rule of law.”
The yearlong program teaches students to tackle complex ethical questions while mastering zealous representation – a cornerstone of legal practice. Through hands-on experience, they’ll develop crucial skills in client counseling, trial advocacy and navigating the intricacies of North Carolina’s child welfare system.
In addition to their clinical work, students will take Graham Kenan Distinguished Professor of Law Maxine Eichner‘s Children and the Law, combining courtroom experience with a deeper understanding of the history and politics of the legal field. The clinic offers five credits in the fall and four in the spring, with prerequisites in Professional Responsibility and Evidence.
As they prepare to address the country’s child welfare crisis and train to be among the next generation of skilled, dedicated attorneys, these future lawyers will join in Carolina’s Law’s long-standing tradition of serving community needs and providing access to justice.